Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Early morning visit to Suan Rot Fai in humid, very overcast weather was
slow to begin with but eventually produced a selection of migrants that
made me want to stay (just a shame I have to work for a living). The
highlight was a Pale-legged Leaf Warbler which I heard going "tink" and
managed to pish into the open a couple of times. The same area held an
Arctic Warbler that was calling persistently and was also pished out.
Further on, in a rather uninspiringly sparse but surprisingly birdy strip of vegetation I picked up one
or two more Arctic Warblers, three Yellow-browed Warblers and had
brief, distant and badly lit views of what I suspect was a female
Verditer Flycatcher.

Other migrants this morning included one or two Brown Shrikes, two Ashy
Drongos, at least seven Black-naped Orioles, two Asian Brown Flys and
10-15 Taiga Flycatchers.

I also had at least three Cattle Egrets feeding in the park (all my previous records have been flyovers).

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

My visit to SRF 0630-0815hrs this morning produced a lovely 1st winter
Ferruginous Flycatcher - a patch tick and only the second time I have
seen this species. A rather tiny flycatcher that seemed pretty unconcerned by my presence.

Oh Fudge!

The other highlight was an Ashy Minivet which was only my second record on the patch. Otherwise migrants were pretty much as you'd expect on the patch in late October - perhaps ten Taiga Flys, a couple of Asian Brown Flys and Yellow-browed Warblers, an Ashy Drongo and a few Blue-tailed Bee-eaters. A group of Barn Swallows seemed to be feeding up before heading further south, but the hoped-for raptors didn't materialise.

Monday, October 29, 2012

Did Suan Rot Fai after work. On my way from Mo Chit skytrain station to the park entrance I was pleasantly shocked to see a low-flying Oriental Honey Buzzard heading south west! Needless to say the camera was ripped from my back pack and the image below is the best I could get. About 30 minutes later I picked up a second bird at much greater height.

OHB

Given that it seemed raptor movement was on (or rather I should say "visible", because raptors do go over Bangkok during passage but usually at significant height) I guessed that some migrating birds would probably drop into the park to roost, so I kept my gaze skyward and headed to an area along the "Canal Zone" which has some dense cover and large trees where I have occasionally disturbed raptors in the past. Sure enough I had one raptor spp drop in - a weird looking thing that initially looked falcon-like, then accipiter-like, then almost harrier-like as it flew around a couple of times prospecting for a suitable roosting site. I digi-blasted it in the hope that I could sort out the silhouette once the bird had gone to roost. My thinking is that it is a Grey-faced Buzzard, based on structure (longish tail, narrow wings) and the whitish fringing on the rump, but I'm keen to get others thoughts on this bird (see below). EDIT: feedback from Dave Sargeant and Phil Round confirms the ID as Grey-faced Buzzard - a new bird for the site.

Grey-faced Buzzard

By this time the light was really going, but I decided to hang around just in case I could pick up a migrant Grey Nightjar (something that others have seen in Suan Rot Fai but I have not), and sure enough, after 15 minutes of seeing nothing but a couple of Night Herons and lots of mosquitoes a Nightjar spp appeared out of the gloom. I could see white in the primaries, indicating that it was a male, but could not get good enough views of the tail to clinch the ID as Grey Nightjar. Structurally the bird was not a Large-tailed (the species I'm most familiar with) but I'm not happy to claim it as a definite Grey Nightjar based on the views I had - Indian and Savannah Nightjars both occur in Thailand and whilst they are unlikely to occur in the centre of Bangkok the same could be said of Large-tailed, which I have in fact seen in the park. Guess I'm trying again tomorrow...

The proposal for a dam at Mae Wong stil seems to have some life in it.

I received this email this morning with a request for signatures against the dam...

++++ Dear Friend,

I’m writing to ask you, please, to sign this
petition to stop construction of an incredibly damaging dam in
west-central Thailand that will eviscerate the Mae Wong National Park,
home to tigers, elephants and other increasingly rare species. Tiger
cubs were recently caught on camera at the heart of the park, rare
evidence of a healthy, breeding population.

This park is especially important for these species
because it encompasses tropical lowland deciduous forest and savannah
grassland, both highly threatened habitats in Thailand, within an arc of
protective hills. This lowland basin is laced by a network of creeks
that feed into the Mae Wong stream that politicians and businessmen
would like to dam to reduce the threat of flooding, ignoring the fact –
pointed out be several authorities on the subject - that recent floods
have been most severe in areas already covered by large dams but where
watershed forests have diminished in part as a result of those dams.

Mae Wong NP is a real success story for Thai
conservation. Declared a national park in 1987 after a logging
concessionaire had felled the pick of its timber, it was in poor
condition in 1990 (and largely devoid of large mammals) when I
co-authored Thailand’s nomination to UNESCO with my late colleague Seub
Nakhasathien for the adjacent wildlife sanctuaries of Thung Yui-Huai Kha
Khaeng to become the country’s first natural world heritage site. In
that nomination, we noted that as soon as the conservation status of Mae
Wong improves, IUCN would be justified in proposing that it be
incorporated into the world heritage site. In the meantime, we noted
that Mae Wong was part of the world heritage site’s well-protected and
well-managed northern buffer zone.

But now that Mae Wong’s ecosystem has recovered,
within weeks of Thailand’s conservation community celebrating rare
photos of a female tiger and two cubs, the government declared that it
plans to build a dam that would damage the ecosystem once again. There
are at least four good reasons to vote against this wretched dam:

1. The dam would eviscerate the national park,
inundating the whole of its core area which constitutes most, if not
all, the low-lying land in the park. Mae Wong NP is ringed by mountains,
giving it a distinctive horse-shoe shape. The proposed dam would be
built across the narrow end of the horse-shoe.

2. As always happens in Thailand when
reservoirs extend into wild areas, whether they have protected status or
not, this dam would facilitate encroachment and resource extraction
inside the national park, subjecting Mae Wong’s breeding tigers and
other valuable species to the depredations of hunters and poachers.

3. The dam would badly undermine the conservation
integrity and connectivity of the world heritage site by destroying the
critical role of Mae Wong as the northern buffer zone. It would act like
an aggressive cancer that invades from outside, spreading its
life-threatening impacts into the world heritage site.

4. This dam calls into question the Thai
government’s commitment to conservation (including tiger conservation)
and its willingness to recognize and respect the importance of world
heritage sites and the global tiger initiative. If the government can so
flagrantly disregard the impact of this dam on Mae Wong NP, it will
also ignore the impact of other development proposals elsewhere in this
and other world heritage sites.

I and my fellow conservationists here in Thailand
would be really grateful if you could sign this petition and share it
with friends by email or Facebook or whichever way you like. If we’d all
been around when the Dodo was threatened, would be have tried to save
it? I think we would. Please help us make sure Thailand’s tigers and
other rare species don’t go the way of the dodo because politicians are
more interested in money and populist policies than they are in the
long-term health of the environment.

I leave you with a quote from Voltaire that seems
apt in the circumstances – even if he did not entertain the possibility
that women may also have a role to play! "Every man is guilty of all the
good he did not do".

A quick walk around the Ministry of Public Relations this morning, after our late evening return from Bhutan last night, produced one Two-barred Greenish Warbler and several Taiga Flycatchers (whose passage should be peaking about now).

Amalee and I went on holiday to Bhutan from 20th-27th Oct. This was our first visit to this amazing country, and our itinerary was by no means birding-focused (the one thing I did ask our guide to sort out was Ibisbill but much to my dismay we dipped), so I just picked up what I could along the way. Our itinerary took in Paro, Thimpu, Punakha and the Haa Valley.

Bhutan is an amazingly beautiful country, with very limited infrastructural development (all our travel was on winding mountain roads), and hotels of varying quality (depending on what was available in each place we visited).

I'll write more and add photos when time allows over the next few days, but for now I include an annotated systematic list f birds and mammals we encountered...

Birds seen

Kalij Pheasant

A pair seen crossing the road at about 2,800m between Cheli
La Pass and Paro.

Speckled Piculate

One seen with a mixed flock at Kichu resort, Wangdue.

Hoopoe

One seen at Punakha and one seen at Paro.

Common Kingfisher

One seen on the river at Kichu resort, Wangdue.

Crested Kingfisher

One seen on the river at Punakha Dzong. Two seen on the river at the Kichu resort,
Wangdue.

Himalayan Swiftlet

Several seen over Khamsum Yuelley Namgyal Chorten near
Punakha.

Snow Pigeon

A flock of 15-20 birds seen around the Tigers Nest. An
unexpected bonus after dipping them at the Cheli La pass.

Speckled Wood Pigeon

A flock of approximately ten birds seen flying over the
upper Paro Valley at Drukgyel Dzong.

Oriental Turtle Dove

Common and seen at all sites we visited below 3,000 metres

Common Sandpiper

One seen on the river at Punakha Dzong.

River Lapwing

Three seen on the river at Punakha Dzong.

Black-eared Kite

One hunting over the riverside at Punakha Dzong.

Northern Goshawk

One seen well overhead as we trekked up to the Tigers
Nest. An apparently large accipiter seen
over the Paro river next day seems likely to have been this species.

Himalayan Buzzard (ssp.
refectus)

Two seen over pasture near Chimi Lhakhang (the temple of the
Divine Madman) and one seen at Paro.

Rufous-bellied Eagle

One juv seen over forest at about 2,800 m, below Dochu La Pass.

Mountain Hawk-Eagle

Two seen at Khamsum Yuelley Namgyal Chorten near Punakha

Eurasian Hobby

One juv seen over Punakha Dzong

Eurasian Kestrel

Widespread, seen in many locations.

Peregrine (ssp. calidus)

One seen over the Tiger’s Nest

Great Cormorant

Three seen fishing on the river at Punaka

Long-tailed Shrike

One near Punakha Dzong

Grey-backed Shrike

One at Punakha and several around Paro.

Yellow-billed
Blue-magpie

Widespread and regular in forest up to 3,100m

Spotted Nutcracker

Common around Thimpu (where I saw about 20 from our hotel
balcony, whilst they fed on walnuts in a neighbouring garden), also seen in the
Haa Valley and around Paro.

Red-billed Chough

Seen in the Haa Valley and around Paro Dzong

House Crow

Seen in Thimpu

Large-billed Crow

Seen at several sites

Common Raven

One group of four birds seen in the Paro Valley

Long-billed Minivet

One male seen on the trek up to the Tiger’s Nest

Scarlet Minivet

Seen at the Kichu resort, Wangdue.

Brown Dipper

Seen on all fast flower rivers visited during the trip –
seemingly very common.

Rufous-gorgeted
Flycatcher

One seen on the trek up to the Tiger’s Nest.

Rufous-breasted Bush
Robin

One female seen in the Haa Valley.

Oriental Magpie Robin

Seen in the garden of the Kichu resort, Wangdue.

Hodgson’s Redstart

Commonly seen at many sites.

Blue-fronted Redstart

Several seen in the Haa Valley, including three splendid
males.

White-capped Water Redstart

Seen all fast flower rivers visited during the trip –
seemingly very common.

Plumbeous Water
Redstart

Seen all fast flower rivers visited during the trip –
seemingly very common.

Little Forktail

Seen on the river at Kichu resort, Wangdue.

Slaty-backed Forktail

Seen on the river at Kichu resort, Wangdue.

Siberian Stonechat

One seen near Chimi Lhakhang (the temple of the Divine
Madman).

Common Myna

Several seen near Chimi Lhakhang (the temple of the Divine
Madman).

White-tailed Nuthatch

Seen in forest below Cheri Goemba, Thimpu.

Wallcreeper

One flew thought by field of view whilst watching Snow
Pigeons at the Tiger’s Nest! It showed
for a couple of minutes of pure ecstasy.

Rusty-flanked Treecreeper

One seen in a mixed flock in forest below Cheri Goemba,
Thimpu

Rufous-vented Tit

One seen in a mixed flock at Dochu La Pass

Coal Tit

Several seen below the Tiger’s Nest.

Grey-crested Tit

One seen below the Tiger’s Nest.

Green-backed Tit

Seen at most sites visited.

Yellow-browed Tit

Three seen in a mixed flock in forest below Cheri Goemba,
Thimpu.

Red-vented Bulbul

Seen at the Kichu resort, Wangdue and other nearby sites at
the same altitude.

Black Bulbul

Seen at the Kichu resort, Wangdue.

Oriental White-eye
Seen at the Kichu resort, Wangdue.

Grey-sided
Bush-warbler

Two birds seen – One in the Haa Valley and one in the Paro
Valley. Thanks to James Eaton for
confirming the ID via BirdForum.

Tickell’s Leaf
Warbler

Seemingly common in suitable scrub in the Haa Valley and
Paro Valley. In both locations I found
flocks of this species at dawn, perhaps suggesting communal roosting?

Hume’s Leaf Warbler

Seen in forest below Cheri Goemba, Thimpu.

Whistler’s Warbler

One seen below the Tiger’s Nest.

Grey-hooded Warbler

Several seen at the Kichu resort, Wangdue.

Rusty-cheeked
Scimitar Babbler

One seen at the Kichu resort, Wangdue.

Red-billed Leiothrix

Seen in forest below Cheri Goemba, Thimpu.

White-browed Fulvetta

Two seen in a mixed flock at Dochu La Pass.

Stripe-throated
Yuhina

Several seen in a mixed flock at Dochu La Pass.

Rufous-vented Yuhina

seen in a mixed flock at Dochu La Pass

Rufous Sibia

Seen at several sites between 2,000 and 3,000 meters
altitude

Brown Parrotbill

One flock encountered in the Haa Valley gave excellent view
just before dusk.

Fire-breasted
Flowerpecker

Several seen at the Kichu resort, Wangdue.

Russet Sparrow

Seen well several times around Paro

Rufous-breasted
Accentor

This attractive accentor seemed common in scrub between
2,000 and 3,000 meters.

White Wagtail

Seemingly common around Paro and Thimpu

White-browed Wagtail

One pair seen on the Paro River at about 2,300 meters. This
is rather intriguing because Inskipp, Inskipp and Grimmett give the altitudinal
range as being below 350 meters. These
birds were seen well but rather briefly, but I am certain of the ID (potentially confusable races of White Wag were considered but quickly discounted). HBW gives the altitudinal range as up to
2,200 m in southern India, and 915m in the north.

Olive-backed Pipit

Seen and heard around Paro several times

Scaly-breasted Munia

Seen at the Kichu resort, Wangdue.

Yellow-breasted
Greenfinch

Seen around Paro twice.

Red Crossbill

Several seen overhead and calling, on the way to Cheli La
Pass from the Haa Valley.

Brown Bullfinch

One or two seen in in a mixed flock in forest below Cheri Goemba,
near Thimpu.

Red-headed Bullfinch

A stonking male seen on the way to Cheli La Pass from the
Haa Valley.

Mammals seen

Otter spp. – one seen eating a fish in the river at Punakha Dzong. It
appeared quite large (even at considerable distance) so I assume this was a Eurasian
Otter.

Brown Goral – many seen at close range at Cheri Goemba, Thimpu. They have become habituated to the monks, who
feed them.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Lots of evidence of birds on the move this morning in the grounds of the Ministry of Public Relations, with a group of 8 Blue-tailed Bee-eaters overhead at dawn moving purposefully (but going northwest?!). Multiple Black-naped Orioles in small groups, perhaps five Yellow-browed Warblers, and a couple of Drongo spp (probably Black) seen very briefly. Also present two Brown Shrikes, one Taiga and one Asian Brown Fly, plus a Common Kingfisher heard calling.

Wish I had time to do Suan Rot Fai today, but lots of work deadlines to sort out before next week when I'll be somewhere much more interesting!

Sunday, October 14, 2012

An hour spent grilling phylloscs in the grounds of the Ministry of
Public Relations this morning resulted in a tally of four
Yellow-broweds, three Eastern Crowneds and one Claudia's Leaf Warbler.

This is the second Claudia's I have seen in Bangkok, the other being at the same location in Nov 2011. Today's bird was very bright indeed, in
fact the wing bars were almost golden. One thing that I noted with both
this year's and last year's birds was that they were both quite confiding
- feeding in the lower branches of the canopy (less than 20 ft
off the ground) and not being concerned by my presence.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

We had very heavy overnight rain, followed by clear sky at dawn. A short walk at the Ministry of Public Relations produced several phylloscs but I only had enough time to nail a few of them - the best being a Two-barred Greenish Warbler, plus one Arctic and at least two Yellow-brows. There were also at least two Asian Brown Flycatchers, one or more Taiga Flycatchers, and three Black-naped Orioles present and I heard a Black-capped Kingfisher.

Saturday, October 6, 2012

An hour and a half at Suan Rot Fai this morning produced my second record of Tiger Shrike
for the site - the only other bird I have encountered there was back in
2008. This juv eventually showed well in dim light after initially
being high in the canopy.

Other migrants included four Brown Shrikes, two Taiga and two Asian Brown Flycatchers, four Eastern Crowned Warblers, one Blue-tailed Bee-eater, one Black-capped Kingfisher, two Common Kingfishers and two Black-naped Orioles.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Got back to Bkk on Tuesday and now playing catchup with work, so very little chance to get out birding. However an early morning walk at the Ministry of Public Relations was a nice reminder of what I have been missing, with single Taiga and Asian Brown Flycatchers, a couple of Brown Shrikes, and two Black-naped Orioles. Meanwhile three Yellow-browed Warblers brought back happy memories of Minsmere sluice!

About Me

Bangkok-based patch-worker in Suan Rot Fai, a large park close to the city's famous weekend market. I have recorded 150 species on my patch since 2008. As one of the only big green spaces in the city, "SRF" acts as a real magnet for migrants during spring and autumn, and holds a healthy selection of "sibes" during the winter months.